Brewpub refused to fill my growler.

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Never even heard of putting a deposit on a growler.....always buy it.

Really? I've never actually bought one. Most of the places I went to (Boulder, Ft. Collins, Ned area) you would pay something like $9 for the growler with beer, or $7 if you brought your own. Bring back the empty growler and get your $2 back.
 
Interesting, I thought you had to be in Michigan to make deposit bottles pay! (seinfeld reference!) Seriously though, i have only ever bought, not choice of bringing it back for $.
 
Yep, my office is about 50 ft from SKA...we actually had a 3 HB club (Montrose, Cortez, Pagosa Springs) meet out there today....hence my inebriation!
 
I don't have much to add to this discussion about growlers that hasn't been said, but I will bring up this...

Around here (missoula), any brewery here will fill anything you can think of, without question- although one brewery labels the caps on whatever they give you. In fact, a local bar here (not a brewery) that has ~50 beers on tap will fill any growler with any beer product for the price of a pitcher. This is beneficial sometimes when, say, I want a growler of Rogue's Hazelnut Nectar, or some other beer that I can't get on tap around here.
 
Yea well they cannot by Alaskan Law fill a growler with anything over 6%. And if the beer is over 6% i have to pay 16oz price for an 8oz

Huh? Who are you buying beer from that's claiming that?

Midnight Sun routinely fills growlers with beer over 6%... I don't know about that 8oz thing though I can't say I've run across anyone that really does 8 ounce pours, but I doubt that's law too...
 
Bear in mind this is a zombie thread (look at the date of his post)... perhaps he was running into this back then....
 
It's like this in PA also. However, only a handful of breweries actually submit to it. Some even slap a label overtop of the one on the bottle. It's such a joke of a law.

That's been my experience also. Who would have time to enforce such a silly law anyway? I suspect that it's just a way for the brew pub to buy their growler!
 
A lot of people seem to be faulting the Brewpubs for following the law. If that's the law, then these guys are MOSTLY going to follow it. To open a brewpub and distribute alcohol, you need ridiculous permits, costing ridiculous fees, and the enforcement is pretty strict and severe. I know the homebrewing atmosphere is one which promotes individuality and even a certain level of rejecting authority, but these guys have a lot at stake, and to simply say they are trying to rip you off, because they are following laws, is absurd.
 
I don't think it is obvious that this is a stupid law. There are good reasons in general for not allowing businesses to fill a container with a label that says something else is in it. One reason was mentioned earlier: there could be allergies/health issues (or, abv issues!). Another is to protect consumers from being cheated--- having their container filled with something other than what the container says. Now, I am sure you can imagine lots of cases in which filling up a container with something other than what is on the label would be harmless, and maybe beer growlers are one example. But lawmakers probably are not going to imagine every possible scenario and regulate at that level of specificity. That would be a waste of time, and lead to a complicated law that no one would understand. Instead, a general rule is established which, overall, gives a good outcome even if it does create some inconveniences along the way. If the brew pubs wanted to respond to this law in a way that benefited the customer, maybe they would sell growlers without any label on it at all. My suspicion is that they are happy to take advantage of the law, forcing you to buy a growler from them.
 
This is still applicable. A friend brought a growler over one night, and I was gonna refill it before giving it back, and the local brewery would not fill it. After a little research, I found the law

25200. All beer sold in this State shall have a label affixed to
the package or container thereof, upon which shall appear the true
and correct name and address of the manufacturer of the beer, and
also the true and correct name of the bottler of the beer if other
than the manufacturer. No manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler of
beer shall use a container or carton as a package or container of a
beer other than such beer as is manufactured by the manufacturer
whose name or brand of beer appears upon the container or carton, or
use as a package or container of a beer a container or carton which
bears the name of a manufacturer of beer or the brand of any beer
other than those of the manufacturer of the beer contained in the
container or carton.

Found here
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=25001-26000&file=25200-25206
 
So about a month ago, I purchased my first growler from Downtown Brewery in San Luis Obispo, CA. They filled it for me and said that they, and other brewpubs would gladly refill them for a fee. I paid $18 for a full growler.

I went to El Toro Brewery in Morgan Hill, CA and was told that it was against California law for them to fill a growler unless it had their name on it. Has anyone else heard of anything like this, or were they just trying to get me to buy one of theirs?

don't tell anyone i told you, but DTB, formerly SLO Brew, has their beers brewed at Firestone in paso robles. When my former employer bought the place in 2006, they did only got the business, no name or brewing rights.
 
Fking lawyers and their willingness to sue anyone for anything coupled with the average idiot's unwillingness to take responsibility for themselves causes this kind of crap.

There is no good reason why you shouldn't be able to get a gas can filled with beer if that is what you want. The catch is that you have to be responsible for the consequences of your decision, and we're way past "personal responsibility" ever being a valued philosophy in this country.
 
I bought a two litter growler from a local shop before Christmas and just after Christmas took it to Flat Branch Brewing in Columbia. There were no marking on the growler at all. They refused to fill it because 1) the quantity wasn't marked on the growler and 2) surgeon general warning was not permanently affixed. I think they were just trying to sell me another 1 gal glass jug, which they did. Why buy a decent growler if you ncan't get if filled. What a Crock..
 
Good thing NY isn't that strict. I leave the beverage center with clear, unlabeled growlers all of the time. The Albany Pump Station will fill my Ommegang growler any day of the week. Of course Cali breweries could just put a $.05 sticker on the growler with that info, but why do that when they can sell you a $20 growler.

Question for Cali guys... do beverage centers fill growlers? How do those who follow the law comply with the labeling requirements?
 
Three Floyds in Munster, IN wont even refill a growler with their OWN name on it. They claim something along the lines of "We can't guarantee that your growler is clean or free of soap residue, so you'll need to buy another one".
 
Three Floyds in Munster, IN wont even refill a growler with their OWN name on it. They claim something along the lines of "We can't guarantee that your growler is clean or free of soap residue, so you'll need to buy another one".

Now that's just crap. All of the brewpubs that I have ever got growlers from offer a discount to refill your old growler. It's up to YOU to bring it in clean and sanitized.

I've never tried to have a growler from a brewpub filled somewhere else.
 
Being a Kalifornian myself, I have to say I'm pretty fed-up with BS laws... however they have made me a more productive BS'er!

So go back and blow that tarbenders mind - make your own label while they watch! Duct tape and a pen, it works. And be sure you ask them what they need on the label as you magically fabricate it to meet their so-called legal 'standards' :rockin:

- M
 
odd most of the places I've used, would either fill it, or take your old one if its got their name on it, and wash it to reuse for others...

Edit: fixed typo and forgot to say "that sucks, they must not want your money"
 
Regarding the "stupid lawyers" comments: lawyers don't write laws. Legislators do. Blame your elected officials.
 
A lot of people seem to be faulting the Brewpubs for following the law. If that's the law, then these guys are MOSTLY going to follow it. To open a brewpub and distribute alcohol, you need ridiculous permits, costing ridiculous fees, and the enforcement is pretty strict and severe. I know the homebrewing atmosphere is one which promotes individuality and even a certain level of rejecting authority, but these guys have a lot at stake, and to simply say they are trying to rip you off, because they are following laws, is absurd.

+1 I agree with pretty much everything in this post. If you had loans on everything you owned -plus your kids and your dog- tied up in a brewery, you might be more conscious of making sure you were coloring inside the lines. Yeah, we're homebrewers, but nobody (even in Oklahoma) is striking a blow for liberty by brewing a batch in their driveway. I was, when I tried homebrewing back in 1970, but was completely unconscious of the fact that it was still illegal....;)
 
I just went to a place in Pagosa, CO. I think it was called Pagosa Brewing. I had 2 plain brown growlers I wanted filled. The waitress looked at me as if I were crazy. She's like we can't refill that, you have to exchange one or buy a new one. She wouldn't exchange mine cause they weren't their growlers. I asked how much one of theirs cost (knowing I wouldn't buy one anyway cause I have like 12 of the damn things). A new one only cost $3.50 but I ended up going home empty handed, I definitely do not need more growlers. I couldn't even get rid of them at my garage sale.
 
Here in CA it is my experience that all large-scale breweries/brewpubs refuse to fill growlers other than their own. Some even have the "growler law" printed out and laminated, so staff can handle people that try to argue with them. The smaller ones just don't know about it, probably. :)

Magnolia Brew Pub and Russian River both have these fancy ones with a Grolsch type swing-top and elaborate handle.
 
I've had a Rogue growler filled by a brewery in CA. I think if it is a law, it's one that is usually ignored. Most likely it is just the brewery misinterpreting the law.

No, it's really the law. I've talked breweries into filling growlers from other places, but they are technically breaking the law by doing so.
 
Well, I'm glad I live in New Mexico cause that crap doesn't fly here. I've had growlers from Wisconsin, Rogue, and even cross town rival breweries all filled here with no questions asked.
 
I agree that it does suck, but from what I remember, European pubs are prevented from serving you a pint in a glass where the beer does not match the printing on the glass if branding is concerned (depending on country I'm sure).
 
Most growlers are 64oz, an amount that is just as often shared as consumed alone. If I had poured my life into starting a brewery, why would I want to put my product into a container with someone else's name?

Packaging is often as influential as the package, and that goes double when you're the one paying the bills for the packaging. As to complaints about "price gauging" for a new growler v. a fill, if its more than a nominal amount, that tells you just as much about the brewery as the beer would.
 
Most growlers are 64oz, an amount that is just as often shared as consumed alone. If I had poured my life into starting a brewery, why would I want to put my product into a container with someone else's name?

Packaging is often as influential as the package, and that goes double when you're the one paying the bills for the packaging. As to complaints about "price gauging" for a new growler v. a fill, if its more than a nominal amount, that tells you just as much about the brewery as the beer would.

I don't get it... The person BUYING it knows what's in it, as they bought it. Whether or not it will be shared is of little consequence; one would think that if it were shared, the people sharing would be in communication with the purchaser.

Also, I don't know what "bills for the packaging" there are to fill a growler... Any time I've had it done, all they had to do is fill it up, cap it, and put a paper label over the cap.

Personally, I find it a bit ridiculous that one wouldn't fill the growler no matter what it said on it, but if it's a legal requirement, so be it (shows the stupidity of an over-reaching government, but that's best left to be discussed on another forum). Other than that, the brewery is in business to make and sell beer, not sell glass containers that can be filled with beer.
 
Yeah. I seriously doubt the brewery cares what the growler says on it. However, getting fined and having that sort of mark against you is bad. It is better for them to comply, for sure.
 
You forgot about the consumer's protection side though. Like the warning labels that lightbulbs might be harmful if swallowed or that they may contain materials that give lab rats cancer.

At least I find these warnings helpful! :rolleyes:

I bought a bag if Pistachios that had said on the back "Allergen warning: Contains Pistachios". This is why the world laughs at us.
 
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